epic: Mandrake's return
by Nosedivefan01
Summary: Lily woke up in a meadow. She has no clue who her parents are or how she came to be. Meanwhile, Moonhaven thrives. The boggans still roam, but the sightings have been fewer and fewer and last time Ronin saw Mandrake, he was flying into a tree, molding into it by his own doing. The young queen is learning quickly and nothing can go wrong. Or can it?
1. Back to the forest

_okay, saw this in theaters twice. Actually kissed my boyfriend at the time at the end of the second time I saw it... Anyways, I absolutely fell in love with this movie! Went to Wal-mart, bought it... Been watching it almost every night (I know, sometimes I'm a freak), and this is what I came up with. I hope you like it :D _

In the forest, deep where no stomper could ever stomp lay a meadow where a young simple leaf-man and a young queen used to lay together, longing for what they both knew could never be.

A pretty yellow lily had grown in this meadow nearly fifteen years ago, right in the spot they used to lay. The lily's petals opened in that instant revealing a young girl with dark skin, dark black hair and beautiful blue eyes. The lily's petals had turned into a dress that flowed out around her and cut off at her shins. She stood up, rubbing her eyes. The girl let out a yawn. She looked to be around the age of fourteen or fifteen years old.

She looked around her before standing up and walking away, looking for something... anything... any clue as to where she belonged in the world she'd woken up to.

* * *

Marigold sat in the leaf thrown in the palace in Moonhaven.

"Milady queen." she turned her head to look at Finn.

"What is it Finn?" she asked.

"Just back from patrol. The forest is as green and luscious as ever." he reported.

"Good. That's just how Tara would want it." Marigold said, thinking back to the previous queen before her. It had already been four months, but it seemed like it only happened yesterday.

As for Marigold, she had matured so much over these past months. She had learned the ways of queen in no time and led her kingdom as Tara would have wanted it.

* * *

Ronin walked out onto his porch. His home stood just outside moonhaven, but close enough to the palace that he could be there in an instant if needed. He stood on his porch, taking a deep breath of morning air. Before he even exhaled, a bird came whizzing by at the speed of light, followed by a scream. He sighed heavily.

"Nod..." he muttered irritably. No doubt, he had been showing off to MK once again. No sooner had the thought even crossed Ronin's mind, the stomper came running by after the bird.

Ronin shook his head before hastily saddling his own bird and heading out.

He found MK crouched down on her hands and knees, wearing the device her father had designed specifically to allow them to communicate with each other.

The meadowlark was fine from the crash and swiftly flew away. Nod still lay on the ground, moaning.

"Nod, Nod! Are you okay?" MK asked, kneeling down low to look at him. Ronin rode up just as Nod sat up, rubbing his head.

"MK? I had the most messed up dream. You were big again and..." he trailed off, seeing her before him. "Not a dream." he muttered to himself so she couldn't hear him.

"Nod!" Ronin came over crossly, slapping him on the back of the head.

"Owe!" Nod complained, grabbing the back of his head.

"What did you think you were doing! It's your foolishness that'll get you killed. Little stunts like that! I'm not gonna be around forever and..."

"I know, I know." Nod muttered, cutting Ronin off, "I've gotta be ready to take your place, _General._" he mocked.

Ronin gave him a stern look.

"It'd be nice if you'd grow up. You told me to stop treating you like a child. So stop acting like one!" Ronin scolded before mounting his bird and flying off.

Ronin breathed out as he landed in the city center just outside the palace. Finn met him outside, taking his reigns for him.

"Sir?" Finn asked.

"Nothing." Ronin sighed, walking off. Finn nodded in understanding. Nod had done something again...

Finn watched as Ronin walked inside for his daily check up on the young queen.

* * *

MK sat beneath a tree. Nod sat on a branch face level to her.

"what's wrong?" she asked, knowing something was up. Nod was never this quiet.

"I don't know MK. It's just, you're a stomper. I want you my size. We could do so much more together." he complained.

I know, but I belong in the human world. Let's face it, I'm no leaf-man." she said.

"I know, but..." he was cut off by MK's electronic planner. Her father had given one to her identical to his. It was announcing the time dad had said he'd have dinner on the table.

"Dinner time." she said simply, "we'll talk later." she promised, standing up and "stomping" away.

"Yeah, okay. Later." Nod muttered, looking down.

* * *

"What's the matter?" Ronin asked Nod when he arrived at the palace as the sun was setting.

"Nothing." he muttered. Ronin sighed, giving him an exasperated look.

"I know that look. Same look your father got when he was troubled. What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's just... MK... and..." he trailed off, breathing out as he looked away. Ronin looked at him with a pained expression as he nodded.

"I get it. It's hard when your love is forbidden." Ronin said with understanding.

Nod looked at him with sympathy, knowing he was referring to him and Tara at the same time. Ronin just smiled, setting a hand on his shoulder.

"Spend as much time as you can with her... before she's gone." Ronin advised, his gaze falling from Nod's face to something behind him.

He saw three shadows trailing up the side of the walls of the castle.

"Hey, check it out." Ronin said, nodding behind him. Nod turned to look and saw the shadows.

"Boggans?" Nod asked.

"Maybe. Of the remaining few after Mandrake's defeat." Ronin guessed, shrugging. Nod pulled out his bow and arrow and took aim.

"No." Ronin stopped him, pulling down on the bow. Nod gave him a weird look. The two of them could drop all three easily with no problem but something told Ronin not to.

"Come on. We'll surprise them inside." Ronin explained, running to the front entrance. Nod still stared in disbelief but followed his commanding officer, still trusting him none the less.

A shadow crawled into the dark window.

"Clear." came the hushed voice when Ronin stepped from the shadows and grabbed the owner of the voice. The intruder gasped and the other two stopped climbing into the window.

"Screw this. I'm out of here!" one of them said, sliding down the walls. Nod went to follow them out of the window, but Ronin stopped him.

"Don't bother, we only need one." Ronin said, pulling his captive into the light coming from the moon through the window. Both gasped when they saw a dark skinned girl with dark hair and blue eyes. She wore a green shirt with brown pants and brown boots.

"Seriously?" Nod exclaimed. Ronin wiped the look of surprise from his face.

"What's your purpose here?" he demanded, shaking the arm he was holding to show he meant business.

"Like I would tell you!" she sassed him.

"Why stay loyal to your friends when they left you here, abandoned." he said, pulling his point across.

"Screw those guys, I don't need them." she muttered, looking away from him.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded again.

She shrugged, seeing no harm in it now for some reason. "We were after the royal jewels." she said simply.

"You think you were going to access the royal jewels!?" he asked.

"It was worth a shot." she muttered, shrugging. Ronin look at Nod. Nod was still in shock that they had found a female with the boggans.

Ronin rolled his eyes as he firmed his grip on her arm.

"Come with us." he commanded.


	2. The thief

Queen Marigold sat where Queen Tara had once sat. The young queen had filled Tara's shoes well, leading the kingdom with the wisdom of the queen before her. She loved the forest as much as Tara had, and although Ronin missed Tara with all his heart, he was very proud of Marigold.

"Your highness." he said, bowing while dragging the thief down with him. Nod bowed behind him. Marigold dipped her head to him before motioning for him to rise. He did so, dragging the thief back up with him. The girl rolled her eyes at being dragged around.

"We caught this thief sneaking into the palace." Ronin stated.

"I wonder how she would have come to get so close to the palace." Marigold asked knowingly. "Do we need to up our security?" she asked, smiling.

"No, of course not. We let her get as far as she did." Ronin defended his defense tactics.

"I'm glad you did. Because she's not a thief." Marigold said knowingly, her eyes meeting the girl's eyes.

"What!? Of course she is! She admitted to it!" Ronin shot at her.

"She may think she's a thief at the moment, but she's not." Marigold said once again, turning around and walking back up the steps.

"What!?" the thief asked, jerking her arm away from Ronin's grip. She walked forward up the steps and the queen turned back to face her.

"How could I not know what I am?" she asked accusingly.

"You think you know what you are. It's time you found out WHO you are." Marigold said simply.

"What does that mean?" the thief asked again, irritably.

"It means Ronin will accompany you to Nim Galuu's tree. You'll get your answers there." she promised.

"What!" Ronin asked, nearly choking.

"Your majesty, I-" he stopped talking as the queen raised her hand to silence him.

"Trust me Ronin. You want to talk to Nim about this." she insisted.

"yes your majesty. We leave immediately. Nod..." he turned to his young companion.

"I know, I know. I'll get my saddle." Nod muttered, turning to walk out the door.

"Wait, what?" the thief asked, confused about the whole ordeal.

"Nim Galuu. We're taking you to his tree." Ronin explained civilly. She shot him a glare.

"What? I'm not going anywhere!" she growled at him.

"Look larcener, it's either Nim's tree, or a vacant cell downstairs." he said, smirking at her. Her glare hardened.

"I don't like you." she sneered.

"You don't have to like me. Just listen to me and obey my orders, and you won't end up in the cell downstairs when we get back." he promised.

Her glare never left.

"Fine." she growled, turning on her heels to head outside to where the birds awaited. Ronin turned his attention back to Marigold. She just smiled at him.

"What?" he asked kindly.

"There's more to her, Ronin. Trust me. I feel it." she promised.

He sighed. "Yes your majesty. We depart immediately. We should reach Nim's tree at dawn." he explained.

"Good luck, Ronin." she said, bowing to him. He bowed back and she left the thrown room, most likely heading back for her bed. After all, they had pulled her out of bed to deal with the thief in the first place.

Ronin walked out to see Nod holding both birds. The thief stood at his side.

"Well, shall we depart." Ronin asked, taking his reigns from Nod.

"Whatever you say boss." Nod said, jumping on his bird. Ronin mounted his before turning to the girl, throwing her on his bird.

"Hold on Larcener." he warned as the bird took off. She grabbed hold of his shoulders until the bird settled in flight.

"I have a name you know!" she snapped at him finally.

"Well?" he asked.

"Lily." she muttered.

"Ronin." he introduced himself, finally having a decent conversation with the thief.

* * *

Mandrake paced back and forth in front of his thrown. A scar trailed down from the top of his shoulder to his elbow. Another scar jaggedly cut across his brow over his left eye.

"Sir." a boggin came running to him.

"What is it!" he snapped. The boggin recoiled before standing up straight once again.

"The girl. She's with the leafmen." he reported.

"Good. So the thief attempt... they bought it?" he asked.

"Yes sir." the boggin reported.

"Good. Now it's only a matter of time. We'll destroy them from the inside out." he said, smiling devilishly.

* * *

"Here we are. Nim's tree." Ronin announced as the first rays of sunlight came across the sky and his bird landed. Lily dismounted and Ronin soon followed after. A few forest folk wandered here and there in the tree.

"Ronin!" the excited voice belonged to the giddy yellow caterpillar.

Lily shrank back.

"What brings you to my neck of the woods?" he asked.

"Hey Nim, we have some questions." Ronin started, stepping back for Nim to see Lily.

"Oh, I see. Well, she looks like her mother. Has her father's eyes. I don't see your problem Ronin." Nim confessed after walking around her, examining her.

"Nim, that's the problem. Where did she come from?" Ronin asked, almost impatiently.

"Maybe this will sum it all up." Nim said, pulling a scroll out as if he had been prepared for this. Ronin unrolled it and blew on it, just as MK had when she had been seeking answers.

An image appeared of an abandoned meadow...

The young queen frolicked into the meadow, holding the hand of a young blond leaf-man. They were smiling as they went until one of them tripped.

The young queen fell on top of the leaf-man and they shared a quick kiss.

"Oh Ronin, I wish it could be like this all the time." she murmured as she settled next to him, laying on his chest while his arm encircled her.

"I know Tara. I wish it was too." he said as they lay there.

Suddenly, the scroll fast forwarded to another meeting in the meadow, when the queen and Ronin were a little older.

Tara kissed Ronin passionately before he pulled away abruptly.

"Ronin?" she asked.

"We can't keep doing this?" he said suddenly.

"Doing what?" she asked innocently, giving him a look.

"You know what. Tara, we can't keep sneaking around like this. You're the queen, and I'm a leaf-man. Further more, the general now." he explained, looking away. "We can't be together, and you think after all these years we'd of figured it out by now." he muttered.

"Oh Ronin." she sighed, going over to him and placing her head against his. She hated it when he was right.

"You're right." she murmured and a tear ran down her cheek, off her chin and into the grass below their feet. He looked at her as a tear slid down his own cheek, landing in the grass where hers had gone.

"You know, I'll always love you Tara, but this has to stop."

"I know Ronin. I love you too. I guess, I just... I guess it's time we grow up." she muttered.

The image faded away to nothing. Ronin looked back at Nim.

"Nim, what... why?" he asked as a tear ran down his cheek. Lily looked at Ronin with sadness in her eyes. Obviously he had loved the woman in the scroll and had lost her.

"Look again." Nim said, shooing him back to the scroll. Ronin turned his head back to see the meadow, just sitting there. In the meadow grew a single bud. A yellow lily began to grow and as it opened, a girl appeared. She looked like Tara but had blue eyes. Again, the picture faded as the girl walked away from the meadow.

Ronin looked down at Lily.

"Nim..." he said, looking back up at the caterpillar.

"Is... you... I mean... is she... I and Tara's daughter?" Ronin asked in shock.


	3. Ronin's child

Nim only smiled at the shocked look on Ronin's face. His smile disappeared at Lily's reaction.

"Wait, you're apparently my dad?" she sneered. "No thanks. I've looked after myself this far. I don't need a dad." she muttered. Surprise lingered in her eyes at this discovery but she hid it well before she walked off outside to cool down.

"Dude, this is deep!" Nod put in, having stayed silent for this long.

"Nim, what does this mean?" Ronin suddenly asked, turning his attention to Nim.

"It means you and Tara had an offspring before her untimely death." Nim said matter of factly.

"Not that. I mean for Moonhaven. Her relation to the queen, Marigold..." Ronin trailed off, looking at Nim expectantly.

"Well, she is technically the queen's offspring." Nim stated.

"So she should be the queen right now?" Ronin asked.

"Well, I didn't say that." Nim defended himself.

"So Marigold is the rightful queen." Ronin concluded.

"I didn't say that." Nim defended again. Ronin breathed out heavily. Nim smiled.

"When Tara gave Marigold her powers, a piece of Tara became a part of Marigold, giving her the birthright to become queen. However, a piece of Tara lives within Lily also, giving her the birthright to become queen. Technically, as of the day of her birth, Lily is the princess. It's as if Marigold had been the eldest daughter and had been given the thrown first." Nim explained.

"So now the larcener is my daughter and the princess." Ronin sighed.

"Don't be too hard on her Ronin. You've gotta remember, she bloomed with nobody around. No knowledge of right and wrong. She just fell in with the wrong crowd at an early age." Nim explained.

Ronin sighed, "I hope you're right. Thanks for your help Nim."

"Anytime." Nim said as Ronin turned to walk away. "and Ronin." Ronin stopped to listen, "feel free to stop by anytime you're not just seeking advice."

Ronin turned back around to him. "Thanks Nim," he said sincerely before turning again. Nod stood by the door. Ronin stopped on his way by.

"Where is she?" he asked. Nod uncrossed his arms and pointed. Lily sat on a branch near the birds, elbows on her knees, staring off into space. Ronin walked over.

"What do you want?" she sneered.

Ronin just sighed. "Come on, we should return to Moonhaven." he stated.

She stood up before turning on him, "Fine DAD!" she snapped, walking over to where the birds perched. Ronin signed out again. This was definitely going to be a difficult task.

* * *

Ronin led Lily down the hall. Many rooms down this hall were vacant save for the queen's room at the end of the hall. He picked a room and led her inside.

"This will be your room during your stay here." He said, opening the door to show her her room.

She walked in and looked around a bit.

"Thanks, DAD." she muttered, the word "dad" hostile and cruel. His temper finally got the best of him.

"Look Lily, I'm just as new to this situation as you are and I don't appreciate you taking it all out on me!"

"I don't appreciate you trying to take the roll of daddy now! I'm practically grown up so why don't you just leave me alone and stay out of my life!" she growled back at him.

"I didn't know you even existed! You saw the scroll! You've got to know that your mother and I had no knowledge of your existence!" he defended.

"You could of looked for me!" she yelled.

"Where would I have began my search? In a jail cell!" he shot back at her. Her eyes widened at him before her gaze fell to the floor.

"Get out." she said darkly.

Ronin's heart lightened once he realized what he'd said.

"Lily, I'm sorry I-"

"Get out!" she cut him off, raising her voice at him. He knew where he wasn't wanted and turned to the door.

* * *

Lily awoke in the middle of the night. She wasn't sure what had awakened her until a slimy voice made it's way to her ear from a blue eminence in a corner of the room.

"Nice place." was all he said. There was no smell of decay and Lily knew Mandrake wasn't truly there. He had used magic to send her a crystal ball call.

It was like face time but tiny nature style. The blue ball had appeared in the corner, which was probably what had awakened her. From the ball emitted the image of Mandrake.

"What do you want?" she sneered at him.

"I just want to make sure our plan is still a go." he insisted.

"Of course it is." she snapped at him.

"Good, good. When do you suppose the plan will be carried out?" he asked her.

"How should I know? They don't exactly trust me yet." she muttered.

"They will, my dark princess. They will." Mandrake mused.

"Did you know Ronin was my true father?" she suddenly asked and Mandrake looked taken aback.

"Did I, I mean... Well... I assumed..." he kept stuttering over his words before he gathered them. "I had an arousing suspicion that Queen Tara was your mother which led me to assume that if I was right, Ronin would be your father." he explained.

"And you never told me!?" she snapped at him in disbelief.

"You didn't need to know. Besides, it's not who your birth parents are... it's who found you and raised you. Haven't I done just that. Didn't I find you lost and alone? Have I not taken you in and raised you like my own?" he asked in disbelief.

"You have." she agreed. He smiled at her.

"Good. Now, let's not forget our little plan. Get some sleep my little dark princess." he said and soon, the blue light from which he had appeared from, disappeared into the blackness.


	4. A change of heart

Ronin arrived at the palace early in the morning. Nod met him in the square.

"You're up early." Ronin mused.

"Well, I'm a leaf-man. We rise early with the sun." he explained, cocking an eyebrow at Ronin. Ronin smiled at him.

"You're father would be proud to see the man you've become." he commented. Nod smiled in thanks.

"Where's Lily?" he asked suddenly.

"I haven't seen her yet." Nod explained.

"Guess she'll have to learn to rise early too." Ronin muttered, walking into the palace. He walked to the room he had given her just to see it empty.

"What..." he trailed off, running into the room and throwing open the closet doors and also looking under the bed, even though he knew without a doubt he was the only one in the room. He opened the doors leading to the balcony and walked out. Nothing.

"I knew we should have put guards on her room." he muttered.

"Ronin?" he was surprised to hear Tara's voice behind him. He turned to see Lily standing there with two plates. The leaves, or Swiss chard, still steamed from having been boiled in water. He shook his head. Had he imagined Tara's voice, or did Lily sound just that much like her mother.

"Lily, I didn't... I thought..."

"You thought I'd made a run for it?" she mused.

"It did cross my mind." he admitted. "What you got there?" he asked, the smell wafting it's way over to him.

"It's my way of saying sorry. I know yesterday I didn't quite make the best first impression." she admitted, giving him one of the plates, the one with more swiss chard on it.

"I haven't had this in a long time." he said, sitting down on the edge of the bed and taking a bite. He melted with the bite he had just taken.

"It's good." he complimented.

"Thanks." she said, taking a seat next to him and taking a bite off her own plate.

"Look, I wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine either yesterday." Ronin admitted after a minute of silence.

"Can we start over?" Lily asked.

"Of course we can." Ronin said.

"Good. I'd like that." she said, "So what's on the agenda for today?" she asked.

"Well, I'm going on patrol today." Ronin said.

"What do you go on patrol for?" she asked him curiously.

"To make sure nothing threatens the forest. Mandrake is gone, but his Boggans are still out there. We make sure the rot stops at the boundary of it's little forest and stays there." he explained.

"Who's Mandrake?" Lily asked.

"He was the leader of the boggans. He tried to destroy the forest. He killed your mother and attempted to destroy the pod as well, make it his own." he explained.

"Yeah, what was it? His little dark prince or something?" Both were surprised by a new voice as two snails tromped into the room.

"Ah!" Lily cried out, cringing further onto the bed.

"Mub, Grub. Were you eavesdropping?" Ronin asked.

"A leaf-man would never eavesdrop. I simply overheard." Grub justified.

"I was eavesdropping. And who is this... lovely little thing." Mub said, walking over looking at Lily. Lily looked at Ronin uncertainly.

"This is Lily. She's Tara's daughter." Ronin explained.

"Wait, as in QUEEN Tara?" Mub asked, lookin at Ronin uncertainly.

"Yes." Ronin said.

"But, the pod was supposed to be the princess if the queen had survived. This changes everything." Grub said.

"This changes nothing. Marigold is still the queen and Lily is now, since the day of her birth, the princess." Ronin explained.

"Wait, hold on soldier boy. How do you know all this?" Mub asked.

"Nim Galuu." Ronin explained.

"Princess?" Lily asked, glancing at Ronin.

"Yes. This means in a hundred years, Marigold won't need to choose an heir. She'll already have you."

"Unless I'm not here when a hundred years roles around." Lily muttered.

"Now hold on, what does that mean?" Ronin asked suddenly.

"Things happen. Accidents occur. People pass away." Lily trailed off.

"You're not going to pass away Lily. I won't allow for it. You're the princess and since you're the princess, it's my duty to protect you." Ronin promised. Lily looked up at him and smiled.

"Thanks Ronin. So, can I go out on patrol with you?" she asked suddenly. He looked taken aback.

"Why?" he asked.

"I want to learn everything I can right now." she insisted.

He smiled at her enthusiasm. "Alright. Come on Lily, let's saddle up." he said.

* * *

"Wait, she's coming?" Nod asked.

"Yes. Grub's riding with you today." Ronin explained.

"But, she's-"

"my daughter, and next in line for the throne." Ronin cut him off.

"Yeah, sure. Okay Ronin." Nod muttered.

"Now, let's go." Ronin said, jumping on his bird. Lily followed behind him while Nod helped Grub get on his bird. Finn and three other leafmen sat on their birds already, waiting for Nod to saddle up.

As soon as Nod was in his saddle, they all took off on patrol.

* * *

The device sitting on the table beeped and MK grabbed it, running to the computer to talk to Nod.

"Hey." she said, turning it on.

"Hey MK. Listen, I can only stop for a minute. We're on patrol right now." he said.

"Oh, doing what? What's new?" she asked.

"Well, apparently Ronin and the queen had a kid." he explained.

"What?" Mk asked, waiting for him to continue.

"Oh yeah, she was a mean little snot at first, but now... she's being super nice. I'm really confused MK." he admitted.

"You'll figure it out." she said reassuringly.

"Nod! Get back in line!" Ronin's voice came from off camera.

"I gotta go!" he said before flying off. With nothing to focus on, the camera went black. MK kept her smile until looking down and sighing out heavily.

"MK? is everything okay in here?" her father asked.

"Oh yeah, dad. Just fine." she muttered.

"MK, I know it's not just fine. What's up?" he asked, pulling up a chair. Ozzy ran in and scratched at her father's pant leg. He picked him up before looking back at MK.

"It's just, I miss that world. I miss the leaf-men, the slugs, Nod." she trailed off. Her father looked at her with a knowing look.

"You should go back then." he said.

"What?" she asked.

"You belong there MK! You know that world better than any human and let's face it, you'll never find a man in the human world as good as Nod." he explained.

"You're serious?" she asked.

"Dead serious. Go MK." he said.

"What about you?" she asked.

"Oh, don't worry about me. I've got a job to hold up now." he said.

"But you spent all your life on this world. Shouldn't you be a part of it too?" she asked.

"I'm just an observer, MK. I don't belong there, but you do. Besides, Ozzy here needs me." he said, rubbing the dog's belly. MK smiled at her dad.

"Thanks dad." she said, hugging him. she looked at him to see tears in his eyes.

"Don't worry about me, MK. I've lived here all alone for many years, I can do it again." he admitted.

"Hey, I'll check in from time to time, okay?" she promised.

"Sounds like a deal." he said, holding out his pinky. She grabbed it with her own pinky and they shook on it.

"I love you dad." she said before going towards the door.

"I love you too MK." he said as the door closed. Ozzy started barking as Bomba looked down.

"Quiet Ozzy, she's gone." Bomba said, shushing the dog.

Solemnly, Bomba got up and went upstairs, getting dressed for his newly found job before walking downstairs and out the door.


	5. Mixed thoughts and feelings

MK stomped through the forest, heading towards Moonhaven. As soon as she arrived, a leaf-man flew up to greet her. She had been so excited to get small again, she had left her helmet at home. She smiled at him and it looked like he returned the smile, having recognized her from Nod's tellings. His name was Kale. Black bangs hung low over his brown eyes that searched the stranger he had heard about but had never actually met.

"I wanna be small again." she introduced her purpose there.

"What?" he asked her as slowly as he could bare.

"I want to be part of your world. I don't belong in the world I'm trapped in." she insisted.

"we can't change you back." he said slowly, having known the story, "it's against regulation. The decision has to go through a vote with the council. The only reason you got shrunk in the first place was because Queen Tara had to make a call and make you small. The only reason Queen Marigold had clearance to make you big again was because she was undoing what Tara had done."

"But I didn't have a chance to even discuss if I wanted to stay while I was still small." she reasoned. He looked sadly at her.

"I'll see what I can do." he promised slowly again. He waited for her abnormally slow nod before flying back down to moonhaven and walking in, the leaf-men on either side of him returning to attention.

* * *

"Baby girl wants to come back? Of course she can!" Mub said as soon as he heard the news. He was soon thereafter silenced by a raised hand, coming from Edmund, who sat near the queen's side.

Edmund had long black hair with a small beard hanging from his chin. His eyebrows were furrowed over his icy blue eyes.

"So many things could go wrong." he put in, glancing at the queen.

"It could drain so much of your power, your majesty." he said, looking at Marigold. Marigold now raised her hand to silence his worries.

"I understand your concern, Edmund. But I put her back to her normal size when I was a newly made queen. I think I can handle a simple shrinking." she insisted.

"But your majesty, it takes so much more energy to shrink a stomper as opposed to growing them." he explained further.

"Edmund, please. The rest of The Seven agree to invite MK back in. Won't you please join us in a vote?" she pleaded.

He looked at her uncertainly.

"If you're concerned she wishes to betray us once she's our size, she won't. She was once our size before. She helped save moonhaven the last time. If anything, once she's shrunk, she'll join the leaf-men or even the royal guard." she explained to Edmund.

He looked angry at first but finally nodded.

"Very well your majesty. I hope you know precisely what you're doing." he insisted.

Marigold smiled.

"Thank you. Now, let's begin." she said, leaving her podium.

* * *

"Pull back!" Ronin called as Lily let out a scream as her bird flipped around uncontrollably.

"Maybe you shouldn't have left the bird in her possession alone so early." Nod commented. Ronin rolled his eyes before looking back as Lily fell out of the saddle.

An ear piercing scream was heard and Ronin shook his head, jumping from the branch and grabbing a loose hanging vine, swinging toward Lily. He caught her in mid air and her screaming stopped as they reached another branch. He set her down.

"Thanks." she muttered, blushing and looking away.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You'll get the hang out it." Ronin promised, seeing her embarrassment.

"You think so?" she asked uncertainly.

"Surely." he said, as Nod swung in and landed on the branch. "It took Nod forever before he could ride a bird alone." he added.

"Hey!" Nod started before looking in thought, "no, he's right." he finally muttered, looking away sheepishly. Lily smiled at him.

"Alright, let me try again." she insisted. Ronin's eyebrow raised her as his eyes widened.

"You're sure?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm gonna get this." she insisted.

"Very well." Ronin said, placing his fingers in between his lips and whistling. The bird came flying back and landed on the branch obediently.

* * *

Finn and the three other leaf-men and Grub watched the lesson from afar.

"He's really connecting with her." commented one of the leaf-men, named Anthony.

"He should be." Finn muttered back.

"It's his pod after all." Grub added, giving Finn a knowing look.

* * *

"Alright, now pull back on the reigns!" Ronin instructed. Lily confidently pulled back on the reigns, turning the bird back to the branch. As the bird landed next to Ronin, she hopped off smiling at him.

He hugged her almost instantly and a shocked look found its way to her face. He suddenly realized what he had done and pulled away.

"Uh, well done." he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck and looking down before tilting his head back up to smirk at her.

"Did better than Nod his first time." he commented, smiling.

She smiled back.

"Hey!" Nod muttered, pouting.

"Oh stop your whining and get on your bird." Ronin commanded.

"Yes sir!" Nod mock saluted before hopping off the branch. his bird swooped in underneath him and caught him as he began to take off for Moonhaven.

"kid still doesn't know how to travel in a group." Ronin muttered, mounting his bird. Instead of having to help Lily on, she hopped on right behind him.

He smiled back at her before turning to look toward Finn. With a flick of wrist pointing his fingers in the direction of Moonhaven, Finn knew it was time to go back to Moonhaven. Grub held on the best he could to the back of Finn's bird as they took off after Ronin, heading home.

* * *

The queen took a step back, rubbing her head. Nim and Edmund caught her.

"That did ware me out a little." Marigold admitted. "Edmund, would you be as so kind to escort me to my quarters?" she asked. He nodded.

"Certainly, your majesty." he said.

"Welcome back MK." Marigold said before allowing Edmund to walk her down the hall.

MK smiled back at her. "Thank you your highness." she called before looking back at who was standing in front of her now.

MK smiled at Nim and he opened all six arms to her. She ran forward hugging him.

"Welcome back." he said warmly.

"It's good to be back." she commented smiling.

"Hey baby girl!" Mub said, scooting towards her.

"Hey Mub." she said, rolling her eyes playfully at him.

"You must of missed me a lot huh?" he asked, smiling proudly at himself.

"I missed you so much Mub." she said and he smiled triumphantly. "where's Nod?" she asked suddenly. His smile disappeared.

"Why you wanna know where that loser is?" he asked suspiciously.

"Mub... don't start." she muttered, tilting her head at him.

"MK?" a voice cut them off and MK turned at the voice. Nod stood at the door.

"Nod!" she exclaimed, running towards him. He ran forward and caught her, spinning her around in a circle. They then locked eyes and shared a quick kiss.

"Wait, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I... asked Marigold to shrink me again." she explained.

"For good?" he asked hopefully.

"For good Nod. I'm not leaving again anytime soon." she promised. He smiled.

"I like that very much." he said, kissing her again right quick. Mub had a hurt glare on his face but Nim elbowed him. Mub then smiled.

"Well, at least she's back." he muttered.

Ronin then walked in the door with Finn and Lily close behind him. After them came Grub with the rest of the leaf-men.

"MK?" Ronin asked.

"Hi Ronin." she said sheepishly, scooting a teensy bit away from Nod. Ronin may not have been Nod's father, but he was close enough.

"It's good to see you!" Ronin exclaimed, coming closer to greet her. "but how did you get back?" he asked.

"The counsel agreed upon it. Queen Marigold shrunk me, for good." she explained.

"Well, it's good to have you back." Ronin commented, smiling. She smiled back before peering behind him.

"Who's that?" she asked.

"Oh, forgive my manners. Lily, MK. MK, this is my daughter, Lily." Ronin introduced.

"Daughter?" MK asked, glancing sideways at Nod before turning her head back to Lily.

"Hi." Lily said simply, holding out her hand. MK shook it before Lily cut off their greeting.

"I'm gonna hit the hay." she said, faking a yawn. "Thanks for the lessons today Ronin." she said.

"Of course. See you in the morning Lily." Ronin said before the younger version of Queen Tara walked away.

"Okay Ronin. What's going on?" MK asked. She hadn't exactly gotten the whole story from Nod.

Ronin told MK the story of how they had met Lily and how they had found out she was his and Tara's offspring.

"Odd." MK said at the end of the story.

"What's odd?" Ronin asked.

"don't you find it weird? She apparently doesn't want anything to do with you and then suddenly is all buddy buddy with you?" MK asked.

"That's what I thought!" Nod put in.

"Or maybe she had a chance to sleep on it and decided to accept the fact that I am her father and is willing to give me a chance. Honestly, you two! Always with the conspiracies!" Ronin muttered.

"Not conspiracies. We're just careful. We take every possibility into consideration." MK explained.

"Alright, well while you two consider the possibilities of my daughter's good nature, I'm going home. Good night." he said briefly to everyone before turning to leave.

"Good night Ronin." Nod called before turning to MK. "seriously, I had the same exact thought!" he said more quietly.

"I heard that!" Ronin called from outside the door.

"Good night Ronin!" MK called this time, snickering at Nod for having been overheard by Ronin.

* * *

Lily pulled her hair out of her bun before flopping down on the bed. She was having mixed feelings and thoughts before a light lit up the whole room from the far corner.

"What do you want?" she sneered at the corner.

"I just wanted to check in on my little dark princess. Is that so wrong?" Mandrake asked, looking taken aback.

"Sorry, just had an interesting day." she muttered.

"Really? So, is our plan still ago?" he asked.

"You know what, I don't know if it is anymore." she dared, shooting him a look. His smile quickly turned into a frown.

"What?" he asked.

"These are good people here. I'm not going to do something to hurt them." she argued.

He looked amused before the blue light suddenly disappeared. She breathed out. It had been easier to turn down his plan than she had originally thought it would be. As soon as she settled back down into bed, she heard a flapping noise outside. She went to the window looking out. No guards were seen outside her window. They were probably circling the castle at the moment, and no one was on her side of the castle. She looked up to see a bat before a figure came flying through the window.

The stench of decay entered her room as the object landed on top of her.

"Now, what was that you were saying?" Mandrake asked, holding out his steaming sword towards her throat. The blade steamed with rot and decay.

"I'm not going to let you hurt them." she glared at him.

"You will help me if you so value your life princess." he said, lowering his face closer to hers, keeping the sword the same distance away.

"I don't care what you do to me. I'm not going to let you hurt anyone here." she growled.

"What about Ronin?" he asked and her eyes went wide.

"What about Ronin?" she echoed.

"He's a leaf-man. Out in the woods a lot. Bad things can occur on patrol. What if a branch were to happen to fall. What if he happened to fall from his bird by sheer accident?" he asked.

"Don't hurt him!" she pleaded.

"So you _**are**_ close to your... biological father." he spat. "if you value his pathetic life, you'll do as I say and follow through with our little agreement."

"If you harm him..." she warned.

"I won't, so long as you agree to do as you're told." he said. She sighed out in defeat.

"Very well." she muttered.

"That's a good girl. Now, if you'll excuse me, the guards should be circling back around any second. I must run." he said, letting on that he knew the guards schedule and that he could probably enter her room at any time he wanted.

He turned and perched on the window sill.

"Good night little dark princess." he growled, flashing a smile before jumping. His bat caught him in the air. He flew off into the night and was gone from sight as the two guards rounded the corner.

"How did he know which room I was in?" she questioned out loud, looking uncertainly around her bedroom. It was well lit from the full moon outside the window. She reached up a hand, holding her head.

"How..." she felt fear overcome her, knowing Mandrake was much more dangerous and crafty than she had first expected.

She went back to her bed, laying down. But she didn't sleep a wink that night.


End file.
